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Tuesday, May 17, 2016

The Pastor and the President

Pastor Apollo C. Quiboloy (Photo from the official FB
page of Pastor Quiboloy)

For many Dabawenyos, his smiling and open countenance and crisp, white outfit are common fixtures on cable TV. After all, he has one of the largest Christian churches in the Philippines which has its base in Davao City. His is a homegrown religious institution, a church that may not be as old as the Iglesia ni Cristo but is one that has become a global religious movement in the last 2 decades.

With the election of Mayor Rody Duterte as the next president of the Philippines, the country saw more and more of this man. His home was the first to be visited by the man destined to be the country's next leader as soon as partial and unofficial count of the votes showed the indisputable lead and inevitable victory of Duterte. He was one of the first people whom the mayor shared a meal with as more and more of the votes were counted. Indeed, throughout the campaign period, he was behind the good mayor up to the very end and supported him in every way possible.

The Appointed Son of God

He is Pastor Apollo Carreon Quibuloy, known to the rest of the world as the founder and leader of the Kingdom of Jesus Christ, The Name Above Every Name, Inc. To his faithful flock, he is the Appointed Son of God, the "man who was chosen when the Father’s hand of appointment came upon his life, and he did not fail Him." His church's official website further states that "(God) gave Pastor Apollo the opportunity to become the Appointed Son of God by calling him. He heard the Father’s voice and he completed the course of enlightenment by revelations that the Father had supplied. Revelation 21:7 is now fulfilled in his life. He chose Pastor Apollo C. Quiboloy and he did not disappoint the Father through his freedom of choice. He was able to overcome the serpent seed until his will is solidified in only obeying the Will of the Father. That is why Pastor Apollo’s message is coherent from the beginning to the end."

Family and Roots

(This is not a definitive genealogy of Pastor Apollo Quiboloy. In fact, this is still in the works. I just wanted to make an introductory genealogical sketch of Pastor Quiboloy).

Partor Quiboloy is a shining example of what makes Davao City a melting pot of great people. Born to immigrant parents from Pampanga, he was the ninth and youngest child of the family and was the only one born in Davao City.

The family name of the good pastor was spelled as QUIBULUY and QUIBULOY back in Pampanga, although some already started using the current spelling - QUIBOLOY - as early as the 1900s. The family originated from the barrios of Santa Catalina and Santa Teresa in Lubao, Pampanga. The earliest records (for now) on the Quiboloys of Pampanga are of Cayetano Quiboloy and wife Cecilia Manalili who had 9 children: Luis, Ines, Lazaro, Dionisio, Alfonso, Petra, Gaudencio, Tiburcio, and Romana, all of whom were married.

Dionisio Quiboloy, grandfather of Pastor Apollo Quiboloy, was described as a man with "sound perception of purpose, lucid reasoning ability, and a strong, indomitable will". He married Anastasia Turla, a woman described as having "a sense of genuine love for others, self-possession, and a courage to defend the right."

The baptismal record of Maria Carreon, the Pastor's mother
(photo from the LDS microfilm collection)

These amazing traits passed on to their children, all of whom were successful and renowned in their fields. One of their children, Jose, married Maria Carreon, also from Lubao, Pampanga whose family came from barrio San Antonio, daughter of Lucas Carreon and Adriana Quinto.

Pastor Quiboloy's father (first on top, first from left) and aunts and uncles
(from the Quiboloy FB page)

According to Marlen V. Ronquillo, Jose Quiboloy and Maria Carreon, the parents of Pastor Apollo Quiboloy, were not unlettered peasant agitators like many others who were forcibly shipped to Mindanao. If Lubao had something close to a functioning intelligentsia then, the Quiboloys were part of it. They were educated. They were teachers and poets. And unlike most of Catholic Lubao, they were mainline Protestants, one of the few Methodist families in town, in fact. Jose Quiboloy felt disgusted that most of the land in Lubao was owned by a few families and he and his family left Lubao, Pampanga after deciding they had enough of the injustices of Pampanga. And so, they settled in Mindanao, which was always advertised by the government as the "Land of Promise".

Quiboloy Family Tree (click to englarge)

The Quibuloy family, like many migrant families before them, adopted Davao as their new home. Indeed, the Quiboloy family of Lubao, Pampanga has been blessed in Davao City. Pastor Apollo's father and his siblings were born in the same decade as President Diosdado Macapagal, another son of Lubao; now, less than a century since settling in Davao City, Pastor Apollo Quiboloy, a son of Lubao whose family adopted Davao as their new home, has not only proven to all that anyone can rise from poverty to become someone important; he has become one of the closest men to President-elect Duterte and will hopefully be able to counsel the President from time to time.

I went to their Family History Center in Manila. I have had these records for some time, just did not have the perfect moment to use them until now. And yes we cannot access their online resources for now. I think you can access them if you go to one of their centers. That is why I still prefer to loo, at the microfilms, easier that way.

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About FILGENPRO

The primary posts in this blog, at least for now, will be Argawanon genealogies. Another focus will be on prominent Cebuano genealogies. Although posts about other genealogies will be discussed here these will be limited and will only be on families that have long and documented histories.

Photos and other inclusions in the posts are free to use, as well as the posts themselves. However, I ask each person who uses the information, family tree, or photograph taken from this site to cite me, TODD CABRERA LUCERO and the website, The Filipino Genealogy Project, in wherever you decide to use these in.